Jatrabari flyover project goes to court

UAE-based Belhasa Engineering & Construction Company yesterday filed a case with a Dhaka court accusing Belhasa Accom and Associates Ltd, a 'concern' of Orion Group, of defrauding its name in the Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover project.
It also sought a court order to cancel the registration of Belhasa Accom and Associates Ltd.
Representing Belhasa Engineering as its power of attorney Zubair Ahmed Bhuiyan filed the case with the Fourth Joint District Judge's Court of Dhaka seeking an order to cancel Belhasa Accom's memorandum and articles registered with the Office of the Registrar of the Joint Stock Companies and Firms in Dhaka in 2005.
The defendants of the case include Belhasa Accom's Chairman Obaidul Karim, his son and its Managing Director Salman Karim, Director Mehedi Hasan, Accom Engineering and Co Ltd, Dhaka City Corporation Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, its secretary and chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission.
After the hearing, Judge Al Shams Joglul Hossain asked Zubair to pay a court fee of Tk 40,200 for the case on August 9.
Zubair told to the judge that the government on April 5, 2003 decided to construct Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover. Following the decision, Dhaka City Corporation invited bids for the construction of the flyover through a tender.
Later, UEA-based Belhasa Engineering & Construction Company and Bangladesh-based Accom Engineering and Co Ltd of Obaidul Karim jointly dropped bids and won.
After winning the job contract, the two companies entered into an agreement for constructing the flyover jointly. Accordingly, Obaidul Karim's company submitted memorandum and articles of association of the company for a certificate from the Office of the Registrar of the Joint Stock Companies and Firms with the name of Belhasa Accom and Associates Ltd.
But at that stage, Obaidul Karim, Salman Karim and Mehedi Hasan 'fraudulently in connivance with others' declared themselves shareholders and directors of Belhasa Accom.
They had also forged the signature of Belhasa Engineering's Managing Director Majed Ahmed Belhasa and submitted it to the Joint Stock Companies and Firms for its registration, claimed Zubair.
The defendants--Obaidul Karim, Salman Karim and Mehedi Hasan--had breached terms and conditions of the Joint Venture Agreement and their registration from the Office of the Registrar Joint Stock Companies and Firms by forging signature of Majed Belhasa, the plaintiff said.
The defendants had earlier taken Tk 600 crore from different public and private financial institutions using the Belhasa Accom name.
Of the defendants, The Daily Star was able to reach Salman Karim over telephone. He claimed they have not forged any signatures and what Belhasa Engineering & Construction Company is saying is not true.